Progress continues to be made at HMYOI Hindley, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of a short follow-up inspection of the young offender institution near Wigan.

HMYOI Hindley’s last inspection two years ago reported that it was performing reasonably well against the healthy prison tests of safety and respect, and well against the tests of purposeful activity and resettlement. This unannounced check found that progress continued to be made in all four areas. Hindley had, on the whole, coped well with the influx of young people following civil unrest in August 2011, some of whom found themselves a considerable distance from home.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• safeguarding procedures, and a well-resourced safeguarding team, continued to identify the most vulnerable young people quickly;
• robust quality assurance had helped to improve suicide and self-harm monitoring documentation;
• governance of the use of force was good and revised anti-bullying procedures looked promising;
• personal officer work had improved and consultation arrangements were very good;
• there had been considerable improvement in the area of diversity, particularly in relation to young people with disabilities;
• health care was excellent;
• significant progress had been made in providing a planned programme of activities to supplement education and vocational training;
• achievement of vocational qualifications had increased, with a high success rate of 96%; and
• a good deal of progress had been made in the area of resettlement.

However, inspectors had some concerns which were not necessarily within the establishment’s control and need intervention from the Youth Justice Board and/or the National Offender Management Service:

• lengthy waits at courts and late arrivals at the establishment were still experienced by some young people; and
• the lack of a national directive requiring staff to wear name badges meant that some staff refused to wear them.

Inspectors were also concerned that although comprehensive behaviour management and violence reduction strategies had been published, there was still work to do to develop the associated incentives and earned privileges scheme and the instant reward and sanctions scheme.

Nick Hardwick said:

“This is a positive report. However, much of the progress we have reported was based on recent reviews and revisions of policies and procedures. To that extent, they still needed to be embedded and tested. However, we were impressed with the range of quality assurance procedures in place, which we hope will ensure that the intended outcomes are achieved.”

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), said:

“This is a positive report highlighting the real progress and improvement being made across a range of areas.

“I am pleased that the Chief Inspector has recognised the work being undertaken by the Governor and staff at Hindley and I know they will use the report’s recommendations to maintain this progress and improve the prison further.”

Notes to editors

1. A copy of the report can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website from 24 January 2012 at www.justice.gov.uk/inspectorates/hmi-prisons
2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
3. This unannounced short follow-up inspection was carried out from 6-8 September 2011.
4. HMYOI Hindley is a closed juvenile site holding young males between the ages of 15 to 18 serving the North West and Wales areas.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons in HMI Prisons Press Office on 0207 035 2123 or 07880 787452 from 0915 to 1415 Monday to Friday if you would like more information or to request an interview with Nick Hardwick.

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